The new league could consist of 60 to 80 teams.
Plans for a new European Super League have been announced by the backers of the project that crashed in 2021.
In that iteration of the ESL, it was proposed that the founding clubs would be permanent members of the competition, with no prospect of relegation.
In this new format, there would be no permanent members and the league would feature 60 to 80 teams in a multi-division competition. There would also be a minimum of 14 games per season per team.
According to organisers A22, a company formed to assist with the creation of the ESL, the new competition would be based on sporting performance.
They say that the plans were drawn up after consulting with clubs from across Europe and state that the new tournament would not require teams to leave their domestic league.
A22 believe that ‘European football is on the brink of the abyss’ due to financial disparity across the continent. Premier League clubs spent over €930m on new players during the January transfer window. Meanwhile, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and France’s Ligue 1 spent a combined €255m on new players.
BREAKING: A new-look, open European Super League could contain up to 80 teams in a multi-divisional format, the competition's chief executive has said. pic.twitter.com/AjFSAtF70j
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 9, 2023
A22 chief executive Bernd Reichart told German newspaper Die Welt, via The Telegraph, that national, domestic leagues would remain the ‘foundation’ of European football.
They say that the new Super League, however, would generate money to help clubs at all levels.
“The foundations of European football are in danger of collapsing,” Reichart said.
“It’s time for a change. It is the clubs that bear the entrepreneurial risk in football. But when important decisions are at stake, they are too often forced to sit idly by on the sidelines as the sporting and financial foundations crumble around them.”
The organisers say the new ESL would be an open competition, and that teams will qualify for the tournament through their performances in their domestic leagues. As such, the new competition would pose a direct threat to the Uefa Champions League.
Reichart said in October 2022 that the organisers hope that the ESL will start in the 2024/25 season.
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